75,000 Kaiser Perm. Health Care Workers On Brink of Nationwide Strike, Overworked, Understaffed: NPR
Overworked and understaffed: Kaiser workers are on the brink of a nationwide strike, NPR, Sept. 29, 2023. Ed. 🥼
Yet another group of crucial workers is just days away from a nationwide walkout.
More than 75,000 workers at one of the nation's largest health care providers, Kaiser Permanente, could go on strike next Wednesday if there's no agreement between their unions and their employer. A final round of in-person negotiations is scheduled to start on Friday, before the current contract expires on Saturday.
The three-day strike would hit hospitals, clinics and medical offices from California and Colorado to Washington D.C. Tens of thousands of workers — including nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists and therapists — would walk off the job.
Kaiser serves nearly 13 million patients across the U.S. A coalition of 12 unions has been in talks with the organization since April to iron out a new contract for its members. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions says it's still far apart from Kaiser on key issues such as pay raises & job protections. If workers walk off the job, it would be what their unions describe as the biggest healthcare strike in U.S. history.
Like striking workers in many other industries, they, too are demanding higher pay and better benefits.
- Staffing crisis: But the Kaiser strike threat is primarily driven by a colossal understaffing crisis. An exodus of health care workers due to COVID-19 – coupled with a surge in demand as patients return for routine care they had delayed because of the pandemic – has heightened the severity of the staffing shortage, according to Caroline Lucas, executive director of the union coalition...https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202315013/kaiser-permanente-health-care-workers-strike
= new reply since forum marked as read
have modern medicine, Biden and more. Even so this virus has disrupted many things in life and sickened and killed millions.
It made me really appreciate how relatives and others endured the 1918 Flu, then Polio and more, prior to the medical advances available today.
I hope your surgery isn't impacted in terms of scheduling or otherwise.
A friend who had a hip replacement 2-3 months ago was apprehensive before the procedure due to other health matters and Covid, but things went very well. The surgeon was excellent and the post- op rehab team real pros he said.
All the best! 
My surgeon says the strike won't affect my surgery. This is my second hip with the same doctor. It went really well. Everyone was wonderful, even the people in the preparation and recovery area. I've already been in touch with my prior physical therapist, and she's guiding me with post operative exercises. That's my usual experience with Kaiser.
Kaiser has been running their hospitals into the ground, while sucking millions from their hospitals and life from their employees!
Kaiser Permanente should be forced to sell their hospitals!
The ONLY thing they're interested in is:
Y'know Dr.s may give the orders, but it's a nurse who'll save your life!
Take it from a licensed nurse! (I'm one too!)
ex: "The worst place to work at and if you aren’t afraid to lose your license, work here.
Registered Nurse (Current Employee) - Harbor City, CA - September 25, 2023
Management is horrible and does not support you to succeed, would punish you over something small. Some coworkers are back stabbers and does not do anything to help especially the veteran nurses. Don’t trust anyone. You have to clean your rooms and EVS does not do that for you. MDs don’t care about their patients and they always do unsafe discharges. Would not side with nurses and Kaiser are quick to throw their nurses under the bus.
Pros
Benefits are decent
Cons
Barely could take your break, cleaning your own rooms, barely any help, bad work culture"
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Kaiser-Permanente/reviews/the-worst-place-to-work-at-and-if-you-aren-t-afraid-to-lose-your-license-work-here?id=2a4ccd30ecd0f2fa